Thom Pham in downtown Thursday. Photo by Jerry Holt.
In what might be the biggest gamble of his career, the flashy, gregarious restaurateur Thom Pham is heading back to downtown Minneapolis.
He will open his Wanderers Wondrous Azian Kitchen across from Block E in a location that has proven toxic to other restaurants, including Musashi, Zake and the Olive Garden. On Thursday, Pham stood bright-eyed inside the gutted space at 533 Hennepin Ave. S. in the Plymouth Building, as his team began work on the 9,000-square-foot restaurant.
Pham's first foray into downtown ended with his upscale Temple restaurant fizzling in 2008.
"This opportunity is different, the timing is different and the location is obviously different," he said.
Pham will shutdown Azia, his south Minneapolis restaurant that has been a late-night hot spot for years. He plans to close Azia in early August, then immediately open Wanderers with much of the same staff. He still waiting for the new liquor license to get city approval.
Pham is at a crossroads in his career. In May, he moved his original St. Louis Park restaurant, Thanh Do, to a larger space across the street. But in June, he sold Thanh Do's under-performing sister location in Anoka. He still owns two E. Lake St. properties, which he had once hoped to turn into bars.
Pham said moving his Azia operation into downtown came out of necessity. The building that houses the restaurant at the corner of Nicollet and 26th St. is in rough shape, with leaky ceilings and a landlord that has done little to improve conditions, Pham said.
